Great hip-hop artists can be incredibly multifaceted individuals. In fact, they have to be.

If a hip-hop artist is going to make a name for himself, or herself, they have to stand out from the crowd, and one such artist who has always stood out from the crowd is Providence, RI, native B. Dolan.

B. Dolan released his latest album, Kill The Wolf, this summer, and it features a host of musical influences.

When most hip-hop artists discuss their influences, it ends up the usual gang of suspects; emcees, and soul artists, whose names come up so frequently it becomes an exercise in repetitiveness. With that in mind, RapReviews sat down with B. Dolan to dig a little deeper, asking him whose music he’s been influenced by that falls outside the box of what we might expect.

Below are five artists that B. Dolan counts as being a part of his musical roots, along with stories of how each has influenced him, and the latest from the man himself.